around them navigating similar dilemmas.
The most challenging issue is seeing clearly,
and stepping in. “Once I became aware of
how widespread the problem of underrep-
resentation of women was in the leadership
chain, I just wanted to talk with others about
it to confirm my own experiences.”
In the literature on women and leader-
ship, assumptions are often made about “all
women.” The reality is that White women
and women of color face different workplace
barriers. “We’re all dealing with men-as-
the-preferred leader dynamic, yes,” said one
woman, “but as a Latinx woman, I’m work-
ing with racism as well.” In one classic study,
90% of Black women reported they had con-
flicts with white women at work, but only
4% of the white women said that they had
conflicts with black women at work. White
women often assume more solidarity with
women of color than women of color may
feel or experience, and white women need to
be aware of this. “White women get to see a
broader picture, and if they would share that
broader picture, it would help black women
and women of color advance more quickly.
There’s a need for a white women, when she
is in a position of power to say, where are the
other women who don’t look like me?” one
researcher noted.
So listening and acting with a sense of
sisterhood, and wanting to learn more helps
us realize we’re all connected in similar
struggles, although we may not all be the
same. A female educator ref lected, “One
of the biggest benefits of sisterhood is that
we can share these struggles together, real-
ize that we’re not alone, that the pain we’re
going through is something bigger than us,
but together, is something that we can work
through, whether it’s sharing strategies, ac-
tually dismantling these structures, or even
just offering each other support so we can
cope together…Sisterhood is something
that is not automatic, even those of us who
grew up with sisters in our family. It takes
hard work, a sustained deep, genuine com-
mitment to be in struggle together.”
Ultimately my client Audrey, who had
been turned down for a promotion, mobi-
lized a network of other female leaders in
her area. They began meeting informally,
sharing articles about oppressive work-
place structures and gender discrimination,
and brainstormed about possible solutions.
They’d try things out, and report back to
the group at the next meeting. “We all be-
came much more aware of our common ex-
periences. We were all going through the
same things. We learned to listen to each
other better, and not to assume we under-
stood. I got better at always supporting other
women, and calling out my own good work.
It’s been a huge awareness-builder.”
We believe getting more conscious of
what we are all facing together can help us
change the world. We’re so powerful when
we work together.
Kirsten Olson is on the faculty of the
Georgetown Institute for Transformational
Leadership, and principal of Old Sow
Coaching and Consulting.
May | June 2019
29